a
EastCHEM School of Chemistry, Joseph Black Building, University of Edinburgh, David Brewsster Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FJ, UK
E-mail:michael.shaver@ed.ac.uk

b
WestCHEM, School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Joseph Black Building, Glasgow, UK

Abstract

The use of olefin cross metathesis in preparing functional polymers, through either pre-functionalisation of monomers or post-polymerisation functionalisation is growing in both scope and breadth. The broad functional group tolerance of olefin metathesis offers a wealth of opportunities for introducing a broad range of functional groups into the polymer backbone, tuning polymer properties and expanding potential applications. Similarly, ring-closing metathesis offers the ability to tune the polymer macrostructure and microstructure to similar effect. In this review, we explore the importance of understanding selectivity in olefin cross metathesis in designing functional polymers, the manipulation of this reactivity to prepare (multi)functional polymers, and show how polymer systems can be constructed to favour ring closing and change backbone structure and properties.

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